Les Girondins are still in 1st place.
This week saw quite a few dismissals in Ligue 1, as well as the lack of a deserving recipient for the GSTGC award. Swine flu continues to be a concern, as Saint-Etienne were without striker Ilan while the Sochaux players must have looked askance at PSG midfielder Clement. In addition, the Sochaux squad may have been a little upset to be playing PSG, since the make-up match between the latter and Marseille (now scheduled for November 20) has caused the Sochaux v. Marseille and Boulogne v. PSG matches to be shifted to December 2. This “inconvenience” means that Sochaux will have 3 consecutive away matches in December, which has gaffer Francis Gillot lamenting that the smaller clubs are not taken seriously by Ligue 1:
The result of the week goes to Bordeaux, as Les Girondins defeated 2nd place Monaco 1-0 to secure their standing at the top of the table.
Saturday, October 31st:
Auxerre 2-1 Montpellier – The southern club continued the slight dip in their fortunes, losing to Auxerre after 2 quick goals from the latter. In the 9th minute Costa saw his shot stopped by Auxerre GK Sorin, who then saw his teammate Chafni volley just wide in the 13th minute. The opening goal came in the 16th minute when Capoue had his shot stopped by Montpellier GK Jourdren and Jelen sent home the rebound. There should have been an equalizer in the 25th minute when Montano was stopped by Sorin, but the follow-up from Delaye was cleared off the line by Mignot. They would rue that miss 4 minutes later when Jelen completed his brace, sending home a cross from Dudka. He could have had a hat-trick in the 42nd minute, but saw his shot saved by Jourdren. Montpellier started the second half more quickly, as Costa sent a header crashing off the bar in the 58th minute and Montano free-kick crashed into the wall of defenders in the 70th minute with the rebound from Marveaux stopped by Sorin. However, the club was down to 10 men after Costa received his 2nd YC in the 75th minute after having just received his 1st YC in the 62nd minute. Despite their disadvantage, Dzodic was able to head home a cross from Pitau but the 92nd minute goal was not enough.
Bordeaux 1-0 Monaco – Although close in the table, Bordeaux completely outclassed Monaco in this match, holding 61% of the possession and firing 21 shots (8 on goal). Action didn’t truly get started until the 31st minute when a Gourcuff cross resulted in a wicked half-volley from Wedel that was well-saved by Monaco GK Ruffier. 5 minutes later Wedel sent a free-kick barely over the crossbar, while Plasil sent a header wide in the 42nd minute. On the other side of the half Plasil had his shot blocked by defender Puygrenier, who appeared to have used his hand although no PK was given. The only goal of the match came in the 62nd minute when a Wedel free-kick was pushed out by Ruffier to a waiting Planus for the easy finish. Bordeaux continued to press in an effort to score again, with Wedel shooting over the crossbar again in the 70th minute and Cavenaghi stopped by Ruffier in a 1-on-1 situation. The final effort came in the 88th minute when Jussie had his shot saved by Ruffier, but the only goal turned out to be enough for the victory.
Boulogne 1-2 Nancy – Nancy had goals very early and very late in this match to secure the victory. In the 5th minute Hadji was stopped by Boulogne GK Kone, but the latter couldn’t keep out a fierce volley from Dia off a Loties cross in the 10th minute. The equalizer took just 6 minutes, with Cuvillier finishing off a cross from Lecointe. The clubs then traded several opportunities, with Dia shooting wide and Moussilou stopped by Nancy GK Gregorini. The first half ended with Kone stopping Bakar twice in quick succession. The former had to be quick on his feet in the 61st minute, tipping a shot from Hadji over the crossbar. In the 75th minute a free-kick from Feret was headed wide by Alo’o Efoulou, and Nancy were down to 10 men 4 minutes later when Loties received a straight RC for kicking Ducatel. Despite their disadvantage, Nancy scored the match-winner in the 82nd minute when Lemaitre sent in a cross that was finished with a diving header from Hadji.
Grenoble 0-2 Lille – Grenoble continued their journey through the depths of the record books, failing yet again to earn even a single point despite a noble effort. In the 12th minute Matsui had his free-kick stopped by Lille GK Landreau, and a quick counter-attack resulted in a shot from Gervinho that was blocked by Cesar. In the 24th minute the latter saw his own shot saved by Landreau, and Lille opened the scoring 3 minutes later when Cabaye finished off some nice work from Balmont. Grenoble continued to push, with Romao stopped by Landreau in the 38th minute, but they faced an uphill battle when Jemmali saw a straight RC for a 2-footed tackle. Lille began to apply pressure almost immediately after the restart, with a Rami volley of a Cabaye free-kick stopped by Grenoble GK Le Crom. There were several opportunities for an equalizer, with Akrour having his header stopped by Landreau in the 55th minute and Courtois smashing the crossbar in the 61st minute, but the end came when Gervinho dribbled through the defense in the 90th minute for the clinical finish.
Lens 1-1 Lorient – The shared points in this match were reflective of the equal action. In the 16th minute Boukari had his shot stopped by Lorient GK Audard, while the latter turned away Demont in the 21st minute. There should have been a goal in the 36th minute when Audard pushed out a shot from Eduardo to a waiting Roudet, but the latter missed an empty net. The goal did come in the 42nd minute, but on the other end of the pitch as Sosa sent home a cross from Gameiro. Lens equalized almost immediately after the restart, with a diving header from Eduardo on the end of a cross from Monnet-Paquet. The action intensified as Boukari hit the crossbar while Monnet-Paquet was twice turned away by Audard. The final opportunity for a match-winner went unfulfilled in the 91st minute as Monterrubio had his free-kick tipped out by Lens GK Runje.
Marseille 1-1 Toulouse – L’OM took 35 shots, maintained 73% of the possession, and played 82 minutes with a man advantage, yet they required a late equalizer to share the points in this match. In the 8th minute Toulouse GK Pele was adjudged to have brought down Niang just outside of the box, resulting in a straight RC. Machado was sacrificed to bring on backup GK Blondel. Still, Toulouse began to assert themselves as Gignac went just wide in the 17th minute and was stopped by Marseille GK Mandanda in the 20th minute. In the 23rd minute Gonzalez had a long-range effort stopped by Blondel, and 4 minutes later Toulouse broke through when Sissoko sent home a well-struck free-kick. In the 36th minute Gonzalez had another effort, this time a well-taken volley, stopped by Blondel. The second half almost started on an incredible note, as Valbuena had his bicycle kick stopped by Blondel in the 51st minute, while on the other end of the pitch Ebondo had his shot tipped over the bar by Mandanda. Marseille finally got their equalizer in the 75th minute when a pass from Kone was sent into the back of the net with a scissor kick from Brandao. And in the end, the club should have gotten a victory, as Kabore had a shot cleared off the line by Gignac in the 81st minute and Brandao was stopped by Blondel in the 88th minute.
Saint-Etienne 0-1 Lyon – Lyon pushed around their derby rivals, fouling them 20 times (to only 5 for Saint-Etienne) to maintain their streak of derby wins at 15 years. The action was fairly even early, as Lopez hit the post in the 15th minute and a Bergessio volley forced a good save from Lyon GK Lloris. Pjanic then had his shot stopped by Saint-Etienne GK Janot in the 26th minute, while another excellent shot from Bergessio crashed into the crossbar in the 30th minute. The latter was denied yet again in the 34th minute when his header was stopped by Lloris. The second half began equally quickly, as Pjanic was stopped by Janot again in the 51st minute and Govou sent his header just over the crossbar in the 54th minute. The Saint-Etienne GK was the busier of the two, as he then tipped a shot from Lopez onto the bar in the 60th minute and stopped Makoun in the 68th minute. Gomis, eager to perform well against his former club, shot over the bar in the 79th minute, but had the match-winner just 4 minutes later after Janot was only able to weakly knock down a corner from Kallstrom.
Sunday, November 1st:
Nice 1-0 Le Mans – Nice dominated this match with 7 shots on goal (to 2 for Le Mans), earning 7 corners (to 1) and getting the only goal of the match on one of those set-pieces. In the 2nd minute Remy forced a save from Le Mans GK Ovono, while the latter was relieved to see Hellebuyck shoot wide after he had dribbled through 3 defenders in the 10th minute. In the 16th minute Le Mans were down to 10 men as Geder saw a straight RC for throwing an elbow at Bagayoko. Nice applied renewed pressure, with Remy heading over the bar in the 31st minute. The goal came in the 40th minute after Ovono fanned on a corner and Gace was able to easily send home a header. The assault continued in the second half, as Helstad volleyed barely wide in the 53rd minute, while Bagayoko had a header saved by Ovono in the 65th minute. The first shot for Le Mans came in the 78th minute, when Lamah was easily stopped by Nice GK Ospina, and the end result never seemed in doubt.
Rennes 0-3 Valenciennes – Although this match appeared even statistically, Rennes never seemed to have a chance as they seemed overwhelmed. The latter did manage to start off more quickly, with Gyan forcing a save from Assembe in the 7th minute, but Bisevac responded with a nasty volley that went barely wide in the 11th minute. After Kembo-Ekoko hit the crossbar in the 27th minute, the dominance began for Valenciennes. There were good efforts on either side of the half, as ben Khalfallah shot barely over the bar in the 42nd minute and Pujol was stopped by Rennes GK Douchez in the 51st minute. The first goal came in the 58th minute when Balde headed home a free-kick from ben Khalfallah. The latter got a goal of his own in the 78th minute when he started in his own half and unleashed a fierce shot which found the back of the net. Kembo-Ekoko forced Assembe into only his 2nd save of the match in the 81st minute, and then Pujol secured the 3 points with a controversial goal in the 85th minute that hit the bar, bounced straight down, and then hit the bar again.
Sochaux 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain – The club from the capital regained their stride after receiving a clean bill of health from the team physio. Sochaux started more quickly, as Mikari elicited a save from PSG GK Coupet in the 4th minute, and shot wide in the 15th minute. PSG then began to assert themselves, and should have had a goal in the 30th minute after Sochaux GK Richert missed a corner, but Traore had his header cleared off the line by Nogueira. The goal came 5 minutes later on a strange sequence of events – Luyindula was brought down in the box by Richert (who received a YC), but Erdinq missed the resulting PK while Chantome missed the rebound, with the ball eventually finding its way to Clement for the goal. The second half resumed with pressure from PSG, as Sessegnon sent a volley just wide in the 47th minute. Gavanon hit the crossbar in the 51st minute, and that was to be the next-to-last opportunity for Sochaux. Chantome scored the 2nd goal in the 56th minute after some nice work with Jallet, lobbing Richert for the finish. Erdinq got a goal against his former club in the 75th minute off a cross from Jallet, while Dalmat pulled 1 goal back in the 86th with a precise shot. The final goal of the match came in the 87th minute as Luyindula made no mistake from close.
So, after Matchday 11, the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 25 points on a 8-1-2 record and a +13 goal differential; (2) Lyon, with 23 points on a 7-2-2 record and a +6 goal differential; (3) Monaco, with 21 points on a 7-0-4 record and a +5 goal differential; and (4) Montpellier, with 20 points on a 6-2-3 record and a +3 goal differential.
Tragic news from Lake Tahoe today, as Francis Gillot was found inside of a rowboat, shot in the back of the head.